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KZFH
KZFH (94.9 MHz, "94-9 KZFH") is a commercial FM radio station which is licensed to Houston, Texas and broadcasts to the Greater Houston area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio (CHR) or "top 40" format. KZFH is owned by XS Radio Group and serves as it's flagship station and Houston's longest running and heritage Top 40 station (since 1998). Originally a non-commercial station, it began as freeform "94.9 The Eagle" in 1997. The station was owned by Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District before selling to Crowley Broadcasting in 2000. After years branding as "Hot 95", the station shifted from Rhythmic CHR back to top 40 CHR (mainstream) as "94-9 KCFH" in 2005. In 2015 it was sold to Xcess Broadcasting which had been operating the station under a local marketing agreement since 2005. This ownership change also brought about a call sign change to KZFH. KZFH airs the syndicated The JDL Show morning show. The air staff at KZFH can also be heard on sister station KZTH in Nacogdoches/Lufkin, Texas. KZFH airs the syndicated The JDL Show weekday mornings. History "94.9 The Eagle" On August 1, 1997 KCFH took the air at 94.9 FM. Owned by Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District, the station broadcast from Cypress Falls High School. The studio located in room 1912, was run solely by students in the Radio/TV program. Known as "94.9 The Eagle", the format was full service/free form. Each personality would create their own show and chose the music they played. With low power, the signal could only be heard in a 5 mile radius from the tower location on Point 6 Circle. "Hot 95" In January 1998, that station went Rhythmic CHR as "Hot 95". Heavy on dance/EDM, the station was known for breaking new music and was among the first stations to break "Blue" Eiffel 65 and "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. By 1999, dance/EDM made up a large portion of the playlist. KCFH labeled itself a source for new music first, often touting being the first to play songs before the "big stations". "Hot 95 KCFH" In 2000, after being approved to upgrade its signal (to 65,000 watts) and granted commercial status, KCFH was sold to Crowley Broadcasting. The George McFly hosted 'McFly in the Morning' debuted soon after. Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 began airing on the station in late 2000. The KCFH call letters were soon added to the moniker and new ownership slowly scaled back on the dance product in favor of a more R&B/Hip Hop leaning Rhythmic CHR in 2003, which was more typical at the time. A group of former air staff named Xcess Radio (which had already launched their first station in Katy, Texas) leased the station through a local marketing agreement in 2005 and slowly shifted the format to mainstream Top 40/CHR with a unique rock lean to complement its new sister station KNSX. Songs like "Cold" by Crossfade, "Ugly" by The Exies" and "Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)" by Chevelle received heavy airplay during this period. KCFH was the only CHR in the country that actively played System of a Down's "B.Y.O.B.". This flirtation with rock also included lighter alternative selections like "King Without a Crown" by Matisyahu, "Anna Molly" by Incubus and "Precious" by Depeche Mode. "95 KCFH"/"94-9 KCFH" In 2005, an effort to rebrand the station with minimal confusion, the moniker was tweaked throughout the next year and a half by first removing the "Hot" nickname and later changing "95" to a more specific "94-9". Open House Party began airing on KCFH in the fall of 2005. George McFly departed in early winter of 2005. In the fall of 2008, KCFH was simulcasted on KTXK-FM Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas (then known as "Power 99") after a fire destroyed its studio. KTXK-FM, having no sister station to rebroadcast, made an agreement to simulcast KCFH temporarily. Coincidentally, both stations would be co-owned by 2011. In 2009, KCFH canceled The Baka Boyz All-Star Hit Mix. This was the first time since 1998 that the station did not have a weekend mixshow (either local or syndicated). This would continue until 2012 when KCFH picked up the syndicated Radiomixes service. From 2013 until 2015 KCFH would play the most popular country pop songs, carving a niche in the format. It gave significant airplay to songs artists like The Band Perry, Hunter Hayes, Luke Bryan, Jason Adean and Lee Brice. The last country song to earn regular rotation on KZFH was "Tequila" by Dan + Shay. This mainstream approach also meant that it also ignored several popular hip hop/R&B crossover songs like "Hot Boy" by Bobby Shmurda, "Started from the Bottom" by Drake, "Love Me" by Lil Wayne and "Mercy" by Kanye West among others. This practice still exists as KZFH is slower to add hip hop, and in some cases never adds certain songs at all. "94-9 KZFH" In February of 2015, Crowley sold KCFH to Xcess Broadcasting, Inc for an undisclosed sum. One of the conditions of the sale was to change the call letters. In April of that year, the KZFH calls were granted upon request. In October of 2019 KZFH changed city of license from Cypress, Texas to Houston, Texas. Pitching Up In the early 2000s, KCFH developed a reputation for pitching up it's music. The idea being that by speeding up the music by a very small percentage, the music would sound better than it's competition. The programmers believed that if you compared the same song on KCFH and a competitor, the competition's station would sound slow, lethargic and as if the music was 'dragging'. This also allowed the station a slight increase in ad space. While there has been no research to support this theory, KZFH (and most XS owned CHR outlets) continue this practice to this day. Aircheck * * * * * * * * Category:Houston Category:Texas Category:94.9 FM Category:CHR formatted stations Category:Top 40/CHR formatted stations Category:Top 40 radio stations Category:XS Radio Group Category:Heritage radio stations Category:The JDL Show